1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a projector type vehicle headlamp.
2. Related Art
There is a projector type vehicle headlamp constituted such that a projection lens is arranged on an optical axis extended in a vehicle front and rear direction, a light source is arranged on a side rearward from a rear side focal point thereof, and light from the light source is reflected to be proximate to an optical axis by a reflector. Further, when a light distribution pattern for low beam is formed by the vehicle headlamp of the projector type, a part of reflected light from the reflector is blocked by a shade arranged such that an upper end edge thereof is disposed at a vicinity of the optical axis at a vicinity of the rear side focal point of the projection lens to thereby form a predetermined cutoff line at an upper end portion of the light distribution pattern for low beam.
Disclosed in JP-A-2001-229715 is a projector type vehicle headlamp constituted such that by arranging a first additional reflector on a front skewed lower side of a light source and arranging a second additional reflector on an upper side of the light source to be contiguous to a reflector, light from the light source is successively reflected by the first additional reflector and the second additional reflector and constituted such that by arranging a shutter between the first additional reflector and the second additional reflector, reflected light from the first additional reflector can be prevented from being incident on the second additional reflector.
In order to promote optical recognizability of a vehicle front road face by irradiating light from a vehicle headlamp, it is preferable to form a plurality of kinds of light distribution patterns in accordance with a vehicle running situation even in the same light distribution pattern for low beam.
According to the vehicle headlamp of JP-A-2001-229715, although the light distribution pattern for low beam can be formed by two kinds of modes of a normal light distribution pattern for low beam and a light distribution pattern for low beam constituted by adding the light distribution pattern formed by light successively reflected by the first and the second additional reflectors to the light distribution pattern for low beam. However, the light distribution pattern for low beam cannot be formed by modes more than the two kinds of modes.
Such a problem can similarly be posed even when a light distribution pattern for high beam or the like is formed, in the vehicle headlamp of JP-A-2001-229715.